Wednesday, September 2, 2015

"This is the kingdom, to see like a child, to live loved with my siblings, to work and to dance and to be filled up like a hollow, howl of laughter, fruit of joy." Wild in the Hallow, Amber C Haines

It has been the best summer of my life.
There have been adventures and road trips and giant waterfalls.
Glasses of wine sipped with dear friends and the giggles that follow.
Sunburns in all their painful glory and splinters from running on boat docks barefoot.
I have played with kiddos in sprinklers and chased them through fountains.
Waves of fireflies covered moonlit fields as I sat with Jesus.
Waves of ocean water washed over my feet as I walked along the sand with my little brother.
I sang "Oh How He Loves Us" with new friends over high school kids as they wrestled with the Lord.
I sat on a wooden bench on a hill at Windy Gap with one of my best people and cried over the fear and the goodness of the truth that we are fully loved and fully known.
I tried new restaurants with my older brother and we shared desserts that tasted like Heaven.
I have watched the sunset over a lake and a river and the ocean.
There has been mountain biking, and go kart racing, and jeep riding.
Pools and beer and swan floats.
Darts and cornhole and Catan.
Weddings and fairs and drive-in movies.
A lot of iced coffee and a lot of ice cream.It has been full to the brim with love and life and wonder.
And every magical moment has felt like, what one of my heroes likes to call it, "colliding with the holy." This summer has made me feel new all over again and reminded me that Jesus is ALIVE. That He is here with us and is constantly inviting us to dance.
The summer is just a season and I know good and well that I won't stay on this mountaintop forever, but I hope and pray that I don't forget the magic. That when the winter comes and life feels heavier and colder that I would remember the lights and the love and the fireflies.